Page 8 of Welcome to Ero-TEA-Ca: We’re Open!

If Cass was a big ol’ lez, why didn’t she like the idea of an erotic tea shop?

Lesbians were all about sex positivity…well, the ones Harriet knew.

Cassandra Beaufort was a conundrum, a grumpy mystery Harriet had to figure out.

If anyone was going to cause Ero-Tea-Ca problems in the future, it was sure as shit going to be Cass.

So, if Harriet worked on her and got Cass to see the light, i.e.

, how awesome the tea shop was, Harriet would be securing her future in the shop owner’s community.

A new goal then. Step one: finish stocking shelves. Step two: make sure Cass attended the soft opening. Step three: no clue. Having the first two steps figured out was good enough for now.

So how did she make sure Cass attended? Kendal, obviously. Harriet was an astute woman. She knew damn well Cass hadn’t come over to apologise out of a sense of guilt. Oh, no. Harriet would hazard a guess she’d got an earful from Kendal last night.

If Kendal was the way in, Harriet had to make contact without Cass knowing. The last thing she wanted was to aggravate Cass further. Maybe taking Kendal up on the coffee she offered was the best way. Surely Cass had to take a day off now and then?

As if the universe itself embossed Harriet’s plans with its seal of approval, she watched Cass leave the café with a satchel slung over her shoulder.

Face-planting the window so she could see the second Cass was out of sight, Harriet realised just how ridiculous she was being.

Did she really need the woman’s approval that badly?

Yes. Yes, she did.

Step one of stocking the shelves was going to take a back seat until later. This was her chance. Grabbing her own satchel, Harriet locked up the shop and practically skipped next door.

Kendal greeted her with a wide and genuine smile. Maybe even a bit of relief was mixed in there, too. “Harriet! Come in. What can I get you? On the house. Pick anything you want.”

“You don’t have to do that. I can pay.”

“Nonsense. Black coffee and a pastry?”

Harriet liked Kendal had remembered her order. Not that it was a particularly complicated one. “Thanks. I’m going to sit in if that’s cool.”

“Only if you let me join you?”

Bingo! “I’d love that.”

“Find a table and I’ll be right over.”

Choosing one of the comfy seats, Harriet dropped her satchel to the floor and made herself at home.

The atmosphere felt chill. The customers seemed happy.

Some were reading. Others were typing on laptops.

It was nice. Hopefully, Ero-Tea-Ca could adopt the same vibe, although the one big difference was Ero-Tea-Ca had actual vibes to offer—batteries included.

“Here you go. Fresh from the oven,” Kendal said in her melodic voice. She also had a pastry and a large cup of dark coffee. Cass was right. The woman had legs for days.

It still stumped her how Kendal and Cass had ever been married. Was that super judgemental of her? Probably. Hell, Harriet was only human. And it wasn’t like Cass came over as warm and cuddly. Not like Kendal did.

“These pastries are to die for,” Harriet mumbled through her first bite.

“Right! I have to regulate myself to one a week otherwise I’d need cholesterol pills, and I’m still too young for that.”

How old was she? And Cass, too? Maybe late thirties? “You look great. You can’t be anywhere near the age of cholesterol pills.” Harriet chuckled.

“Forty-nine. I’m getting there.”

Harriet almost choked on her croissant. “You look amazing!”

Kendal laughed. “I have great genes. You should see my mother.”

“Is Cass the same age?” Subtle , Harriet. Real subtle.

Kendal’s eyes twinkled as she gave a sly grin. “ Cass is forty-one but has the character of an eighty-year-old grouch.”

Harriet snickered. “Yeah. You seem quite different.”

“Oh, we are. But it works. I take it she came and apologised? I can only back that up with my own. I’m so sorry, Harriet.

I really don’t know what’s got into her.

She’s always been a bit over the top where the café is concerned.

The other shop owners will attest to that.

But for whatever reason, she’s got a real bee in her bonnet about Ero-Tea-Ca opening. ”

Harriet shrugged. “I knew some people would have an issue. That being said, I want to invite you to a soft opening on Monday evening. Friends and family will be there, plus, I hope several other shop owners. I want you all to see the tea shop is nothing but that: a place to drink tea, and eat cakes and sandwiches…just surrounded by erotic art. It’s not porn. ”

Kendal laid a hand on Harriet’s arm. “You don’t have to convince me.

I’m really excited. As much as I love coffee, I love tea too.

And I think it’s about time we felt comfortable enough to not only talk about, but be surrounded by, the beauty of the human form and all the pleasure we can get from it. ”

“Wow, thanks. That’s exactly what I want—to show people there’s nothing wrong with our bodies. That talking about sex shouldn’t be taboo.”

“I’ll be there, then. What time?”

“Around seven. Um…do you think Cass will come?”

Kendal winced. “I wouldn’t count on it.”

Harriet sighed. “Okay. Complete transparency. Cass let it slip you are her ex-wife after I asked her if she was a homophobe.” Kendal snorted. “I figured her apology was your brainchild and hoped you’d help me get her to come to the opening on Monday night.”

Canting her head to the side, Kendal smiled. “Can I ask you why? I mean, she’s been nothing but a shit to you.”

Swallowing a large gulp of coffee, Harriet nodded in recognition of the fact that Cass had definitely been a shit to her.

“Honestly, I just don’t want another person to fight with over the shop.

My parents are less than pleased with my idea and have fought me all the way.

Thank God my siblings backed me up, otherwise I think I would have caved by now. ”

“I’m sorry, Harriet. That must’ve been hard.”

“It wasn’t fun,” she laughed, “but Ero-Tea-Ca is important. I know it is. And it’s worth the discord between me and my parents.

Hopefully one day they’ll come around. I’d just like Cass to come around sooner.

We’re going to be neighbours for—fingers crossed—a long time. I want us all to feel comfortable.”